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'C'T: t " K r &f&i "w i- jS",-Ba5irsS V
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ADULTERATION IS STILL WIDESPREAD, SAYS DR.
WILEY, IN FIRST "AFTER RESIGNING" ARTICLE
Washington, April 15. Dr.
Harvey W. Wiley, former chief
chemist of the department of ag
ricultural, fires his first "after re
signing" broadside at food adul
terators in an article for The Day
Book, which follows:
By Dr. H. W. Wiley.
Perhaps the most persistent of
all forms of adulteration are
those which relate to the mani
pulation of milk. With certain
detection staring them in the face
some milk producers and milk
dealers still take risks by tamper
ing, day after day, with one of the
most important of the staffs of
life.
In the contemplation of the
law milk consists of the whole
product which can be extracted
from the cow's udder at a single
milking, or a mixture of two or
more milkings. In point of fact,
the milk 'which reaches the con
sumer in .the city generally con
sists of a mixture of the, milk
from two or more cows and some
times of the product of thirty to
fifty cows.
By reason of this admixture
pure commercial milk hasta very
constant composition, containing
, about 4 per cent of fat, 3 per cent
of protein, Y per cent of mineral
matter or ash and 5 per cent of
milk sugar. Of these consti
tuents the fat is considered the
most valuable, hence, the most
common form of adulteration is
an abstraction of part of the fat.
I mention milk in particular here
because it is a good ilhistration-of
the scope of adulteration.
Adulteration is not only prac
ticed with simple articles of food
like milk, but it has extended
until it has included at some time
or other practically every article
of food used for human consump
tion. It is not possible to men-
tion all of these, just a few will il
lustrate how extensive the prac
tice has become. '
Maple sugar and molasses has
been the subject of extensive and
continued sophistication, the
same has been true of strained"
honey, in fact it may "be stated
that honey at one time was the
most extensively adulterated of
human foods.
Bread also has not escaped the
longing glances of the adulter
ators, sirups of all kinds, 'peppef-,
spices of every description and
butter have fallen a prey to his
desires. Flavoring extracts and
leavening agents" are some of the
more important articles of food
which have felt the blighting ef
fect of the adutlerator's greed.
Adulteration includes also not
only the foods pointed out abpve,
which have been manipulated for.
the purpose of deceiving, but
such foods as are prepared amid
filthy or unsanitary surround- ,
ings or which have been kept
until they are putrid or decom
posed. With this point of view food
adulteration would extend to all
products which are not prepared
in a cleanly manner or which are
"kept longer than is necessary, for,
A J
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